(Yicai Global) Nov. 24 -- Dicos, a fast-food brand owned by Ting Hsin International Group, will introduce more unmanned smart restaurants in the first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and will also expand its paid membership system to boost its presence across both first- and second-tier cities next year, Beijing News reported yesterday.

The firm opened its first unstaffed restaurant in Shanghai earlier this month, featuring smart screens that allow customers to select food, place orders and make payments.

Dicos will accelerate its layout in the first and second-tier cities in 2018 through the supply of fresh food materials, in addition to paid membership. It currently operates 2,300 outlets nationwide, more than a half of which will be equipped with intelligent ordering systems by the end of this year.